Menu

The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley

Tylor just turned 14 and suffers from an extremely rare genetic disease called XD, meaning that sunlight and UV rays can kill him. He lives in a world of dark and twilight. His home is tailored for his condition and spends most of this time locked in the upstairs wing of his home with boarded windows and goes to school via Skype. He loves photography and sneaks out at nighttime to take pictures of animal, nature and spies on his neighbors who he never get to see during the daylight hours. His sister Melissa is 16 and is going through her own stuff and doesn’t have the time for him any more. His mother Eve has sacrificed her life to keep him safe and to take care of him. David, his father, works in DC and commutes back home to Ohio on the weekends. They live on a cul-de-sac with neighbors they know. Charlotte, her 11 year old daughter Amy, and boyfriend Robbie live across the street and Charlotte and Eve are best friends.

A tragedy strikes the little sleepy cul-de-sac which will not only have neighbor against neighbor but family members against family members when everybody has told lies and harbors secrets trying to protect those they love. The very fabric of life on the street will be stretched to tearing point and what happens in the aftermath of such tragedy.

I loved this book, it reminds me of Jodi Picoult but not as soul destroying heartbreaking like hers. There is heartache in this book, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not as harsh. It is a story of a mother who will do anything to protect her children and children who will do what they can to protect their family. I can’t recommend this book enough.